EPL: Watford 2-1 Arsenal

Tom Cleverley celebrates scoring the winner

Tom Cleverley's injury-time winner pushed Watford up to fourth in the table as they stunned Arsenal 2-1 following a late comeback.

The Hornets’ excellent start to life under coach Marco Silva looked like it might be coming to an end when Arsenal took the lead towards the end of the first half, with Per Mertesacker nodding home on his first league start in 18 months.

The Gunners had chances to wrap up the points and were eventually made to pay, with Troy Deeney levelling from the penalty spot in the 72nd minute after a controversial call by referee Neil Swarbrick before Cleverley netted a late winner to send Vicarage Road into euphoria.

It had all looked so good for Arsenal when they struck first through an unusual source, with Mertesacker heading home his first Premier League goal since 2013.

The German was given too much space in the penalty area to get up to meet Granit Xhaka’s corner, powering his effort past Heurelho Gomes.

That goal seemed to wake the visitors up and Hector Bellerin should have doubled Arsenal's lead before half-time, with Danny Welbeck rolling the ball across for the Spaniard, but he failed to find the bottom corner.

The Gunners continued to create chances during the second half, Alex Iwobi bringing a great save out of Gomes after being played in by Mesut Ozil.

Ozil, brought on as a substitute, then had a brilliant opportunity when getting the benefit of the doubt with a tight offside call, only for the German to shoot straight at the onrushing Gomes.

Ozil’s miss quickly came back to haunt him as less than a minute later Watford were level via a penalty.

Bellerin and Richarlison came together in the box and the referee was quick to point to the spot. Replays suggested there was minimal contact on the Brazilian, but Deeney will not have cared after dispatching the penalty.

The equaliser finally brought the Hornets to life and they came within the width of the post of taking the lead when Etienne Capoue’s effort was deflected on to the woodwork.

Silva’s men kept at it and eventually forced the winner in added time, with Arsenal failing to clear their lines after Deeney had gone close and Cleverley gobbled up a golden chance as he slammed in the winner.

The win moves Watford into the Champions League spots as Arsenal’s recent seven-match unbeaten came to an end, leaving them in sixth place.